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The Supreme Court on March 29 rejected an attempt to stop us from joining together in unions to improve our lives and our communities by ruling against the wealthy special interests behind the Friedrichs v California Teachers Association case.

This is a huge victory for working families!

But the threat is not going away just yet. A handful of billionaires are still funding ballot measures, litigation and legislation – all aimed at stopping us from sticking together.

These wealthy special interests – and groups like the Freedom Foundation here in Washington – don’t want us to unite to make a real difference in our communities.

Why? Because they know when we join together, we win. And they don’t want anyone to stand in the way of their extreme agenda to drive down wages and game the tax system, leaving the rest of us to pick up the tab for fully funding education.

“As a Patient Services Specialist at the University of Washington, I’ve witnessed the power of our collective voice to improve our work environment. Together, we bargained strong contracts and on March 19 we held a great action to keep our U-PASS affordable. It’s because we have a strong union that we can make positive changes.

I am prepared to stand with my brothers and sisters in our union and with working families all over the country. We have to push back and fight. This was a close call, but we have many more to come. We need to show strength in numbers and solidarity to beat back attacks and win at the bargaining table. The only way is for us to be unified.”

Jen Papest, PSS
Radiation Oncology
University of Washington

“As an HVAC Technician at Vancouver School District, I’ve seen the power of K-12 classified staff having a collective voice in our union. Together, we’ve bargained strong contracts, won benefits for our families and made improvements at our jobs.

These corporations and billionaires are trying to destroy unions so they can get more wealth for themselves. If they succeed, our wages will decrease and our benefits, like medical and sick leave, will slowly go away.

We will not let them succeed. This is a battle. But this battle is everybody’s battle, not just a union battle.”

Phil Akerill
HVAC Technician
Vancouver School District

“Groups like the Freedom Foundation are still trying to destroy our union by deceiving us into dropping our membership.

We won’t let that happen. As a Family Child Care Provider, I’ve seen the power we have when we stick together. We’ve been able to win higher subsidy rates and training funds and improve access for children and parents.

Join me in standing strong with our Family Child Care union – SEIU Local 925. We are stronger together.”

During the Leadership Assembly, members recapped recent localwide victories, reviewed some of the current threats against working families and discussed plans to continue building our worker movement.

“It was awesome to see all the purple together. It reinforces how we reengage with our members and our community. We’re fighting for everybody, not just union members. I feel like it lit a spark in me.”Deanna Clark
Program Coordinator, Harborview Medical Center

With the completion of the latest light rail expansion the University of Washington has gained a new connection to our regions public transportation system. As the celebration kicked off for the opening of the Husky Stadium Station revelers were greeted by a rally of 200 union members demanding that UW do the right thing-Keep the U-PASS affordable.

The University of Washington had proposed increasing U-PASS rates for employees by up to 43 percent. After pressure from union members the UW backed off its original proposal.

The proposed increase to the U-PASS is a result of $2 million in parking taxes owed to the City of Seattle. “But here’s the problem. We’ve already paid our portion, over $1 million in fact, through the reserve fund,” stated SEIU 925 member Laura Harrington addressing the crowd. Harrington also serves on the UW Transportation Committee.

“Other employers both in our neighborhood and other universities in the city offer a lower [transportation package] rate for their employees,” said Gina Neff, UW Faculty Forward member and Associate Professor in the Department of Communications, speaking to KOMO News at the event.

The University of Washington shouldn’t continue to pass the buck on to its employees.

An affordable U-PASS will make it possible for more UW staff, faculty and students to use public transportation. “It’s great that we have a new light rail station, but it’s not enough to have a new station if people can’t afford a ticket to ride,” said Harrington.

That message was made loud and clear.
The United Union Rally was sponsored by: SEIU 925, UAW 4121, AFSCME/WFSE Council 28 Local 1488, SEIU 1199, WSNA, and UW Faculty Forward.

Over a hundred SEIU 925 members and their families gathered at the Northwest African American Museum on February 29 to celebrate Black History Month. At the celebration, sponsored by the embRACE committee, participants were treated to free museum tours, and live performances. Erin Jones the Director of Equity and Achievement for Federal Way Public School was the guest speaker. The Keynote speech was presented by Marcia Tate Arunga author of The Stolen Ones and How They Were Missed. Please enjoy this slideshow of highlights from the celebration.

Education from early learning to college is dangerously underfunded in our state because Washington corporations do not pay their fair share. Members took action at the capital and spoke directly to elected leaders, including Governor Jay Inslee, and asked them to:

“We came to knock on doors,” said 925 Family Child Care Provider Elena Avalos to the crowd of hundreds of 925 members before they walked off to speak with legislators. “We came to make our presence known. We are SEIU! We need a budget that is fair and that stands up for education. We can see that there isn’t a bright sun outside. But let me tell you something. We are sun that will shine brightly!”

Did you miss the action? You can still pledge to stand in solidarity with our union for good jobs, fully funding education and ensuring that Washington works for ALL of us. Take the Unity Pledge here.

At this time of year it is important to pause and take a moment to remember the racial, social and economic injustices that Dr. King fought. This is a time to remember his fight for the freedom, equality and dignity of all races and peoples. A time to remember his inspiring message of change through nonviolence during the Civil Rights Movement.

While almost everyone knows about Dr. King’s Civil Rights efforts, do you know about his support for the labor movement?

SEIU 925 members re-elected Karen Hart as President of our union. Our member election committee officially tallied the mail-in votes on Dec. 5 with the grand majority of votes in support of Karen Hart.

“I’m humbled and honored that I have been entrusted to lead our union into 2016,” Karen said. “We have many challenges ahead of us that we will take on together. We must build a stronger, more powerful union, beat back the attacks on working families and make Washington work for all of us, not just the wealthy few. By sticking together as one strong union and speaking with one strong voice we can ensure that all our families and communities have a fair chance to succeed. SEIU 925 is one of the best unions in the country and it’s because of all of our members, our vision and our commitment to one another.”

Election Committee members Marky Erhardt and Pema Richeson help to validate and count the votes on Dec. 5.